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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22774861">Let Your Hair Down</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_in_ink/pseuds/painted_in_ink'>painted_in_ink</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ways to Fall in Love With Your Best Friend (A Killervibe Drabble Series) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Flash (TV 2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:28:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22774861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/painted_in_ink/pseuds/painted_in_ink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"She was neat. She was professional. She was Caitlin.</p>
<p>The only time she’d ever seemed different was… When she wasn’t the one solely in charge of her body. Sure, KF could bring out her wild side, (because Caitlin didn’t innately have one) even change her clothes sometimes, but he had never seen Caitlin herself truly just… Break that exterior, even though he knew she tried.</p>
<p>She never let her hair down.</p>
<p>Which is why this is bugging him. Tonight was just not following that norm."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow, killervibe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ways to Fall in Love With Your Best Friend (A Killervibe Drabble Series) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637335</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! </p>
<p>I'm breaking up my drabbles into sections, a way of being able to define the different ideas a little better. So the first bits in this series are gonna be fics you've known before, given their own space. Continuity is great, so I'll try to post things together that have a similar theme. Many of my original notes will stay consistent. (Sad, I've been posting these since last year, I must learn to save my time-stamps.)</p>
<p>Same credit is due as the first time I posted this, I completely thank and blame MoonlightShines (That Killervibe) for the inspiration that started this one. (My only regret is not being able to save your lovely comments&lt;3)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If you knew Caitlin, two things you would always associate with her were the words prim and proper. His beloved best friend was the type to always appear clear, calm and acute, and she never contradicted those things by way of appearances. She dressed professionally, business casual, with clean-cut lines and an almost “Sunday best” kind of approach.</p>
<p>Her work station suited her profession and was consistently kept clean and organized for the most practical of reasons. But, her home was that way too. It was a part of who she was.</p>
<p>She even thought linearly and necessity-based, so that she could always be sure she the important things in her world were taken care of.</p>
<p>She was neat. She was professional. She was Caitlin.</p>
<p>The only time she’d ever seemed different was… When she wasn’t the one solely in charge of her body. Sure, KF could bring out her wild side, (because Caitlin didn’t innately have one) even change her clothes sometimes, but he had never seen Caitlin herself truly just… Break that exterior, even though he knew she tried.</p>
<p>She never let her hair down.</p>
<p>Which is why this is bugging him. Tonight was just not following that norm.</p>
<p>They had all been at Joe and Cecile’s, laughing and chatting and generally having a good time, and tonight they’d gone long past the normal amount of hours that they would usually stay up drinking.</p>
<p>Caitlin had sat curled up across from him on the couch nearly the entire night. She was wearing a soft, cozy, too-big sweater and jeans. Which was still classy but new. Different.</p>
<p>And now, she always actually wore her hair down, but when she did it was styled and purposeful.</p>
<p>Now it was getting messy, with her running her fingers through it like she was so comfortable and relaxed, and she’d been doing all these gestures while they laughed and spoke. Biting her nails, touching her face, easy smiles. It was so open.</p>
<p><br/>Something about it flipped in his stomach all of the sudden. He’d been subconsciously aware of these little things all night, but now that he’d really thought about it, it ruined his concentration.</p>
<p><br/>The thing was… He <em>wanted</em> to make her feel that way.</p>
<p><br/>He didn’t know if he was the cause of it at the moment, but the Caitlin that he treasured? She should never have a reason in the world to not feel at home. She should always feel so loved, supported and adored that she should feel free to be herself like this all the time. Especially when they were together.</p>
<p>He’d never realized that throughout everything they’d been through, this had been a constant goal in the back of his mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>She needs to feel at home, she needs to feel safe, she needs to feel loved.</em>
</p>
<p>It played over and over in his head like a mantra, and it motivated a lot of what he did.</p>
<p>That last word in the procession hit him like a slap in the face, and Cisco thought he was going to have to excuse himself for a moment before he did something stupid like spill his drink all over his pants.</p>
<p>“I’ll be right back, okay?” He said as he carefully got up, missing the way her smile fell as he passed.</p>
<p>Cisco stepped outside into the cold air, hoping it would bring him a sense of clarity. Since when did he have such feelings for Caitlin?<br/>He thought it could be the drink talking, but he was pretty sure that any hopes he’d had of that had been buried a long time ago.</p>
<p>Now, did he love her? Of course, she was his best friend and he’d do anything for her. She’d ask, he’d deliver, no questions exceptions or conditions.</p>
<p>But they’d always been like that. Heck, he couldn’t even tell you a time when either one of them had a true crisis the other hadn’t been around to help. They were there for each other, it was what they did.</p>
<p><br/>Now he’s having a hard time wondering if it hadn’t just been the case all along that… maybe Caitlin meant more to him than just as a friend. Maybe that’s why her showing him just a glimpse of his wildest hopes and desires for her made him realize that… She’s been the one he’s pining after.</p>
<p>He wanted to see her happy, more than anything… And he truly wouldn’t mind if he were responsible for it, either.</p>
<p>He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he approached the banister, leaning his face into the breeze, realizing he hadn’t cooled off at all.</p>
<p>Little did he notice when the door opened quietly behind him, and Caitlin stepped out on the porch to follow after him. She padded up to the railing, startling him a little when she appeared in his peripheral vision.</p>
<p>“Hey,” she said softly, her drink in her hand. Cisco silently prayed that wasn’t still the true cause of all this.</p>
<p>He gives her a little smile before turning his attention upward to stare at the sky.</p>
<p>They stayed in a comfortable silence, but he could feel some of her unspoken questions about to bubble over.</p>
<p>“You uh, ever wonder about the sky?” He asks her, diverting the subject just a smidge.</p>
<p>“The sky, Cisco?” He grins at the gravel in her voice that comes because she’s being kinda serious and because she’s also too intoxicated to care about how she sounds. It does nothing for the fact that his focus feels like it’s playing a game of hopscotch right now.</p>
<p>“I mean, it’s always there, and you know that.. It’s doing its thing, you’re doing yours… But on a really clear night, it hits you. How brilliant it is. Like it’s showing you all the wonders it has and you’re seeing it for the first time again.” He’d become more animated when he was telling it, but now he relaxes a bit again, resuming his spot next to her. She stares at him. “Have you ever had something do that to you before, Caitlin?” He asks her honestly.</p>
<p>“Yes,” she answers simply, her gaze roaming around his features. He didn’t wanna get his hopes up about what she was looking for.</p>
<p>“What did you do?” He was facing her towards her now… Were they.. Inching closer? He could just be imagining it, maybe it was a trick of the low light…</p>
<p>Then she stepped into his space enough to reach up and spin a piece of his hair between her fingers. “Cisco,” she whispered. He wasn’t sure who did it, but pretty soon they were kissing. She was warm and responsive, and all of Cisco’s instincts fought the little voice inside him that still made him want to ask if this was okay. She was hardly stopping him. More like encouraging him, and Cisco was too content to do more than just kiss. But he did thread a hand into her hair when she opened her mouth under his.</p>
<p>When they broke apart for air, she looked up at him with a sense of wonder, and he thinks a little piece of his heart melted and gave itself to her irrevocably at that moment.</p>
<p>He still can’t help but ask, and when she nods her head a little bit he’s pretty sure he knows who kissed who after.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I still blame the discord.</p>
<p>(Aka the reason this work had a second chapter.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, Cisco wakes up with a familiar ache in his head and an unfamiliar weight on his chest. He is only disoriented for a few moments before he remembers. Not that he’s totally surprised, waking up to Caitlin would be the only foreseeable plan if he was going to have anyone stay over at all, but now she was on his chest, clearly not in a buddy position, but wearing the outfit she had on last night and draped over his body like a human pillow.</p>
<p>Which looks like it’s an accurate statement because that’s about the only way they’d fit across his couch.</p>
<p>He’s baffled at why they choose to sleep here, but then again, he hardly remembers breaching them to his place and out of the cold last night.</p>
<p>Last night, when… Oh. That’s why.</p>
<p>They’d kissed for the first time, stayed outside for as long as they could tolerate before debating about whether or not to go back inside between kisses when he decided to just open a breach to somewhere they could be warm and alone… They’d stumbled over to his couch and made out for a while like teenagers before promptly passing out at the late hour. Which explains the throbbing in his head from the light coming in the windows, but also their strange position.</p>
<p>He kind of had to grin about that.</p>
<p>He’d sit here all day admiring how cute she looked, all curled up and snoring, but he seriously wasn’t gonna last much longer without some Advil. He disentangled himself from her as gently as he could before wandering into the kitchen to find some in the cupboard. He takes his and sets hers out on the counter with a water before opening the fridge for ideas about what they can eat for breakfast.</p>
<p>When she comes in he’s halfway through making omelets with salsa, turkey bacon, and cheese. There’s a pot of coffee by the stove.</p>
<p>She groans appreciatively and downs her pill.</p>
<p>“Thank you. Smells amazing.” Her hair is so messy and she’s half asleep, but she’s smiling sweetly.</p>
<p>“Good morning,” he says, as happy as he can muster for their current mood. It’s so easy, the air between them. She’s all relaxed despite the headache she must have, hair down and… He realizes something important and freezes. He tries to act natural, busying himself while remembering more of the details that brought them here. “Yeah, so.. breakfast will be ready soon.. Hey, Cait?” He gets really nervous all the sudden and has to look at her. “How much exactly do you remember from—”</p>
<p>Before he finishes she steps up, wraps her arms around his neck and presses a closed-mouthed kiss to his lips. He sighs, effectively shushed. “Not much,” she says as she pulls back and yawns into the back of her hand. But then she plants another kiss on his cheek. “But enough.” Then she bites her lip and gives him the puppy eyes, which is so adorable. “Can I borrow some clothes?”</p>
<p>He almost laughs, relieved. “Of course you can.” He knows he must be grinning down at her like an idiot. She kisses his cheek again, making a joke about also borrowing mouthwash, before walking into his room.</p>
<p>He watches her go, then allows himself a moment and to process what just happened. No one can blame him for the little happy dance that follows, though he’s sure to never admit to it unless being tortured.</p>
<p>They sit down and have the most comfortable breakfast, chatting like friends and looking at each other like they’re in love… So really, nothing changes. They've just stopped denying what's true.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, that's still how I like my omelets.</p>
<p>And Carlos is still a cutie in that interview where he and the little girl just melt each other. Channel as much of that sweetness as you want into the last few sections of this.</p>
<p>*Blows kiss*</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Bonus: Forehead Kisses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Because this whole idea revolved around how comfortable Cisco makes Caitlin, this absolutely fit right in.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>**Warning** Slight angst, nothing too severe, though.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another case, another meta, but this one had Caitlin seriously freaked out and he noticed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sat and pondered this in the med bay while the team ran in and out, them trying to identify the best lead to follow and asking Caitlin what she’s been able to find out so far with the samples they’d given her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, he had developed his relationship with her for years, intentionally building his heart— if no one else’s on this team— to be a safe place for her and for her emotions to be expressed freely outside of her own self. It was something he prided himself on the more she relied on it, given her tendencies to be more reserved than most people on the team.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That emotional safety translated into their romantic relationship as easily as breathing… So when she showed less subtle signs of distress like sighing, fidgeting, nervously ringing her fingers and the like; especially around the team, he took his boyfriend liberties seriously and decided he could openly comfort her about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>… which he loved, if he was being honest, in the saddest yet happiest way you could imagine with every muscle in his heart dancing beneath his chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He loved her, there was no other way he could put it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So when he was sick of mooning her with empathetic eyes from across the room and her not noticing, he waited for a quiet moment where the rest of the team was more distracted and got her attention.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Psst.” He said, while everyone went into the other room where more pressing concerns waited, giving them a brief pause as they sat in the medical room, though anyone could turn around at any time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What,” she asked him seriously, thinking something was wrong as she made her way over to his crooked finger.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then he set his attack into motion: he wound a hand deftly through the curls at her shoulder to pull her down and tenderly kiss her on the forehead.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He felt the tension leak out of her as he rubbed his thumb over her cheek. <em>Gotcha.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>She let out a breath, melting. “I’m sorry, it’s just, this meta seems so dangerous and—“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She looked out at the team, a hand on her belly as she no-doubt thought about Iris, and about how they’d been talking about having children, knowing the risk of miscarriage better than most.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, we’ll be alright, you hear me?” He stood and took her hand. “Barry and Iris will be, too. We’re gonna catch this guy,” he told her, affection written all over his gaze.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She smiled a small but sweet smile, just for him, and he knew the safe place was doing what it was supposed to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Anything for his girl</em>, he thought as he watched her walk back to her computer, not half as tense as she was.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She looked back at him again in appreciation, and just then Barry zoomed in to tell them about another new lead.</p>
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